Benno, standing near the fire with Gronau, now and then glanced towards them, but that other pair of eyes watched them intently from the gloom, and if sometimes their owner resolutely looked away towards the busy, happy throng, some mysterious force seemed to compel his gaze to rest again upon the pair, who looked as if they already belonged to each other.
Erna, who had grown warm from climbing, had taken off her hat and laid it upon the mossy stone that served her for a seat, while Waltenberg leaned above her, conversing in a low tone. What he said had, perhaps, no special significance, but his look sought hers with a passionate eagerness which he took no pains to conceal. His eyes could well express the emotion which thrilled his whole being. The man whose thirst for freedom had so long defied the fetters of love was now hopelessly enthralled.
The conversation was carried on in an undertone, but Wolfgang distinguished every word; through all the shouting and laughter, through all the crackling and hissing of the flames, every syllable distinctly fell on his ear, for every nerve was strung in the effort to listen, as if for him life and death depended upon what was said.
"Inaccessible do you call the Wolkenstein?" asked Waltenberg. "That only means that no one has yet ascended it. It can be subdued, that haughty peak."
"Hitherto no one has subdued it, however," Erna replied. "Several have ventured up through the rocks to the foot of the topmost cliff, but there every one has been stayed; even my father, who was not easily daunted by any ascent and pursued the chamois to the highest summits, often declared, 'The Wolkenstein peak is inaccessible.'"
Ernst looked up at the peak, now only partially visible, and smiled: "Do you know, Fräulein Thurgau, your description tempts me to venture the ascent?"
She looked up at him in dismay: "Herr Waltenberg, you would not----?"
"Climb the Wolkenstein peak? At least I shall attempt it."
"Do you think so? I hope to prove to you that I am in earnest."
"Why does one undertake any adventure? Because the danger excites; because it is a victory, a triumph, to achieve the apparently impossible."
"And if this triumph should cost you your life? You would not be the first victim of the peak. Ask Sepp; he can tell you a sad story."